A city residents group, which is spearheading a plan to build a community centre in their area but are awaiting Government funding, will meet with the Minister for Housing later this month in a bid to speed up the process.
The Newcastle Combined Community Association is keen that work would begin on the project, which is “shovel ready” and was described as a “worthwhile” and “impressive submission” by the housing department.
Former mayor and city councillor Martin Quinn, who is the association’s PRO, says many residents in the Newcastle/Dangan/Circular Road area were disappointed that the planned Newcastle Community Centre and outdoor facilities were not included in the recent Urban Regeneration and Development Fund announcements for Galway made by the Minister for Housing, Local Government, and Heritage, Darragh O’ Brien.
“Prior to the funding announcement, the Newcastle Combined Community Association (NCCA ) committee mounted a vigorous political campaign which attracted support from all our local TDs and senators, together with the Mayor of Galway,” says Mr Quinn. “This culminated in a Dáil question to the Taoiseach by Deputy Noel Grealish requesting funding to be made available.
“Following this, a meeting has now been confirmed between the NCCA officers and Minister O’ Brien for later this month. At that meeting we will again emphasise the amount of voluntary work and investment that has gone into the community centre project to date, to the point that we are ‘shovel ready’. We see funding as the final step to see this project through.”
He says the chief executive of the Galway City Council, Brendan McGrath, told the association it will support the Newcastle project with matched funding if a government financed scheme is approved.
“We look forward to meeting the Minister and sincerely thank him for agreeing to meet us. We will be pressing the importance of no further delays in funding this long awaited project to which many in our community have already made generous donations.”
Mr Quinn says there is a pressing need for a community centre in the area which has a population of more than 6,000 people and is equivalent in size to Ballinasloe or Westport. Residents have been waiting eight months for an announcement regarding the Government funding allocation. The application for finance was submitted by the Galway City Council last May.
The need for such a facility was first raised in the 1970s and, as the population of the area increased over the years, local residents ran various campaigns to highlight the issue.
The continued expansion of the area, coupled with the lack of a social facility since the Westwood Hotel was demolished, highlights the importance of this project, he says.
“The directors of NCCA CLG - a charity formed to represent Newcastle Combined Community Association – have been working with Galway City Council to develop a community centre in Newcastle for the past 25 years.
Grant aid
A “suitable” and “central” site was obtained from the council and planning permission was obtained for the project. In January 2020 the local authority unanimously supported a motion to apply for grant aid under URDF, according to Mr Quinn.
“Over the years, the local community of Newcastle/Dangan generously contributed funding to NCCA CLG to enable the completion of detailed design work and preliminary site preparation. The total local contribution to this project to date is close to €200,000.
“The current position is that the development - which includes a community centre, children’s playground, all-weather pitch, and sensory garden - will be ‘shovel ready’ to go to tender once the URDF grant aid is received.”
Mr Quinn says Newcastle has been “deprived” of community facilities. “The original centre where the community gathered was taken over by NUIG a decade ago. The local hotel, which was the meeting place since then, was demolished and developed into a student accommodation centre.
“There are no community facilities or meeting place in the Newcastle/Dangan area – not even a hotel, bar, or restaurant. The nearest meeting place requires travel to the east side of the city or to Salthill. The facilities proposed and included on the URDF application outlined how the centre will provide for the regeneration and rejuvenation of this deprived area of the city.”
He describes the continued delay in the announcement of URDF funding as “disappointing”. “Constructive discussions took place with the CEO [of] Galway City Council who advised us that URDF was the appropriate funding mechanism for our centre.” The Minister for Housing echoed this view.
“The defining criteria by Government for URDF funding is for projects that ‘support more compact and sustainable development through regeneration and rejuvenation’ and the primary focus is ‘on supporting integrated urban developments that enhance the urban area in question so that it becomes an attractive and vibrant place in which people choose to live and work, as well as to invest’. The Newcastle Community Centre project and outdoor facilities fits all those criteria.”
He says the Newcastle Combined Community Association has been awaiting the funding announcement every month since last September.
“The explanation received in December from the minister’s office was that the delay was due to the complexity of many of the URDF projects. Representations were made by the NCCA CLG directors to Galway West Oireachtas members requesting that funding for our less complex community projects to be decoupled from complex local authority projects. This would allow for the early announcement of funding for our community centre.”
Mr Quinn points out that the directors and committee of the Newcastle/Dangan community association have made their contribution to this “much needed” development.
